Ohio grandmother guilty in case of locked-in girl

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April 7, 2012 3:54AM (UTC)

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio woman has admitted keeping her 9-year-old granddaughter in a barricaded bathroom when she wasn't in school.

Prosecutors say 50-year-old Dayton resident Rivae (RY'-vuh) Hart pleaded guilty to abduction and endangering children on Friday in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court. The felony counts are punishable by nine months to three years in prison.

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Hart and her husband, Brian Hart, had been the girl's legal guardians since 2004. They were indicted on kidnapping and child endangering charges. They were scheduled for trial April 16.

Authorities say the girl was kept in a small bathroom area blocked by stacked dressers and was rarely allowed out for several years. Police say the Harts told them they confined the girl because of behavioral problems.